When it came to Larry Bird’s short stint at Indiana University, there was a lot regret.
And after he went on to a Naismith Hall of Fame career that included three NBA most valuable player awards, that’s understandable.
The basketball legend arrived in Bloomington in the summer of 1974 from French Lick, Ind. But in a flash, it was over.
According to official records, Bird matriculated at IU on August 26, 1974 and withdrew on September 18, 1974.
“Quinn (Buckner) to this day says to me, the thing that he regrets most is that when you first went down to school (at IU), that he wasn’t there,” Isiah Thomas told Bird in an NBA on TNT interview produced in connection with All-Star weekend. You can watch the full interview, that includes former Pacers star Reggie Miller, below.
Bird averaged 31 points, 21 rebounds, and four assists as a senior at Springs Valley H.S. and IU coach Bob Knight offered him a scholarship soon after that season.
In the TNT interview, Bird said he actually wanted to go to Kentucky, but they stopped recruiting him, so he chose between Indiana and Indiana State.
Bird chose Knight and the Hoosiers and arrived in Bloomington in the late summer of 1974. From the jump, things didn’t go well.
Many tales have been told when it comes to why Bird left just weeks after his arrival.
But Bird says there is really only one reason why he headed out to State Road 37 and hitchhiked home.
“Financially I just couldn’t stay. I just couldn’t do it,” Bird said in the TNT interview. “It wasn’t that I was homesick or didn’t like the coach.”
Bird arrived at IU before the 1974-75 season, a campaign that saw the Hoosiers go 31-1 and win the Big Ten with an undefeated record. It is difficult to imagine how good Indiana would have been with him on the roster as well. Indiana went 32-0 and won the national title the following season.
Knight has said he didn’t expect Bird to play a major role until his junior season. He certainly could have helped the 1976-77 team, Mike Woodson’s freshman squad, that went 14-13.
The legendary IU basketball coach would later say he regretted his inattentiveness to Bird’s struggles during his short stint in Bloomington.
In his book “When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball,” Seth Davis quotes Knight as saying: “Larry Bird is one of my great mistakes. I was negligent in realizing what Bird needed at that time in his life.”
Beyond his financial struggles, there are stories out there of IU players bulling Bird during workouts, and Bloomington being too big and fast-paced. Buckner was one of the team leaders and perhaps could have intervened, but he was away at a camp at the time.
Some have also suggested there was a personality conflict with the head coach.
But Bird says he would have meshed just fine with Knight.
“One thing about me, is I always say the coaches coach, and the players play,” Bird said. “Whatever they tell you, you gotta do. You might not like it, but you’re gonna do it. That’s what they do. That’s their expertise.
“I don’t think me and Coach Knight would have had a problem, because I never had a problem with a coach.”
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